Amid growing scrutiny of the Cockroach Party or CJP and the backgrounds of those associated with it, the professional history of its spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka has drawn attention for an interesting institutional overlap with Pakistan’s political establishment.
Ranka worked as a consultant with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, during two separate stints, the second of which coincided entirely with the tenure of Dr Sania Nishtar, a former Pakistani senator and minister in Imran Khan’s government, as the organisation’s Chief Executive Officer.
Ranka’s professional profile, as reported by OpIndia, shows that he worked as a consultant with Gavi from May 2021 to July 2022. He subsequently returned to the organisation as an independent, part-time consultant in October 2024 and continued in that role until September 2025.
The second stint coincided entirely with the tenure of Dr Sania Nishtar as Gavi’s Chief Executive Officer. Nishtar was appointed by Gavi’s board on 11 January 2024, and assumed office on 18 March 2024, according to the organisation’s official website.
Nishtar is a Pakistani physician and public health expert who previously held senior positions in Pakistan’s political establishment. Between 2018 and 2022, she served as Special Assistant to then Prime Minister Imran Khan on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation, with the rank of a Federal Minister.
During her tenure in the Imran Khan government, Nishtar founded and led the Ehsaas programme, a flagship social protection initiative covering poverty alleviation, financial assistance, healthcare, education and other welfare measures.
Before that, she served as a Federal Minister in Pakistan’s caretaker government in 2013, with responsibility for re-establishing the country’s Ministry of Health. She was subsequently elected to the Senate of Pakistan from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and remained a member until 2024, when she moved to Gavi.
According to Gavi’s official biography, Nishtar had also been associated with the organisation well before becoming its CEO. She chaired Gavi’s Evaluation Advisory Committee between 2011 and 2014 and served as an independent member of its board in 2016.
Ranka’s Association with AAP During Gavi Stint
The OpIndia report also highlighted Ranka’s political activities during his second stint at Gavi.
On 20 February 2025, Ranka shared a photograph with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. In the accompanying Instagram post, he described Kejriwal as someone who had “inspired me like no one else” and expressed admiration for his determination.
Another post dated 18 March 2025, showed Ranka participating in an AAP-related press interaction on government schools in Rajasthan. He tagged AAP Rajasthan and senior party leader Manish Sisodia.
Both instances occurred while Ranka was listed as a part-time consultant with Gavi. However, there is no evidence that his political activities were undertaken on behalf of Gavi or that the organisation endorsed his political affiliations.
For someone who has emerged as a prominent spokesperson of the Cockroach Party and regularly comments on Indian political affairs, Ranka’s own professional and political associations deserve scrutiny. His two stints at Gavi, the complete overlap of his second stint with the tenure of a former Imran Khan government minister as its CEO, and his public admiration for AAP’s leadership raise legitimate questions about the networks and affiliations he has cultivated. If Ranka expects to question the political associations and credentials of others, he must be equally prepared to answer questions about his own.
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